Automatic switch for use in telephone or like systems



Feb. 15,1938. H. J. EDWARDS, 2,108,

AUTOMATIC SWITCH FOR USE IN TELEPHONE OR LIKE SYSTEMS Filed Dec. 2, 1955I 1H E /0 7 fl if; 9

:5 r L E 7. 5,2 g /x if zo l z fA/VENTOR- A mer uM/v fDM ARDS PatentedFeb. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES Lltdtt PATENT Henry John Edwards, Dartford,England, assignor to Siemens Brothers & Company Limited, London, EnglandApplication December 2, 1935, Serial No. 52,548 In Great BritainDecember 20, 1934 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to electromagnetic switches of the typeused in telephone or like systems and is particularly applicable to aninterconnecting arrangement such as disclosed in United States PatentNo. 1,903,211, granted March 28, 1933, to D. A. Christian. In this casea selecting switch is disclosed which is arranged to provide for theconnection of any one of a comparatively large number of inlets to anyone of a comparatively large number of outlets by means of a pair ofwiper sets with a common driving means. The switch provides for theconnection of any contact in one contact bank to any contact in theother contact bank.

In the present invention a plurality of sets of common drivingmechanism, the connection of the driving mechanism with a wiper setbeing through gearing, a common wheel on a driving shaft being adaptedto be engaged with a toothed wheel on any one of the wiper drivingshafts. In this case the various wiper sets do not rotate together.

The invention lends itself readily for use with a rotary switch drivenby an individual electromotor, the motor and the movement of the switchbeing under the control of an electromagneticallyoperated latch device,it being preferably arranged that a single latch mechanism is providedfor operating on the several toothed wheels on the wiper driving shafts,and a further lock may be furnished adapted to engage and prevent fromturning the toothed wheel of a wiper set not being driven by the motor.

The several sets of wipers are mounted on separate shafts which may bearranged concentrically, each shaft having a toothed wheel adapted to beengaged by a pinion of the gearing, and provision may be made to slidethe spindle carrying the pinions for the engagement of one of thetoothed wheels.

The spindle carrying the pinions may conveniently be moved by means ofan electromagnet acting on the spindle through an arm attached to themagnet armature, the arm at the same time controlling the lock for thetoothed wheels. Suitable circuit operations would provide for theoperation of the electromagnet at the right time.

If the inlets and outlets are divided into two groups and four sets ofwipers are provided, with suitable gearing and controlling arrangementsconnection may be made between an inlet and an outlet in one set andbetween differently disposed inlets and outlets of another set, and oneof these connections may be made by the switch while a connection overthe other set is still in being. The control arrangements would providefor guarding the switch from seizure for a connection'during the settingup period of an earlier connection and for locking the appropriate wip 5ers against rotation during a setting operation.

The invention is illustrated by way of example diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawing as applied to a switch having two sets of wiperswhich are adapted to be driven independently 10 from a singleelectromotor. Fig. l of the drawing illustrates a general arrangement ofthe apparatus, Fig. 2 is a view looking downward from the top of Fig. 1and showing the manner in which one wiper set is held stationary duringthe time that the other wiper set is being moved, Fig. 2A a detail viewof Fig. 2, and Fig. 3 the common latching mechanism for the wiper sets.Only those parts of the switch necessary for the understanding of theinvention are shown, details such '20 as the banks which are well knownper so being omitted.

In the drawing the supporting frame is indicated at I. The shaft 2supported by the frame 5 has secured to it a driven cogwheel 3 and aframework 4, somewhat in the form of a squirrel cage. for supporting awiper set 5. To a cannon 6 rotatable about the shaft 2 is secured acogwheel 1, and the cannon and wheel support a further framework 8carrying the wiper set 9. Each of the cogwheels 3 and 1 has fixedthereto a projection, l0 and II respectively, for operating off normalspring sets (not shown). The wheels 3 and 1 are adapted to mesh withpinions i2 and 53 respectively keyed to a spindle It supported by theframe I. The pinion I2 is normally in mesh with the wheel 3, whereas thewheel i3 is out of mesh with the wheel 1, the shaft l4 being allowedlongitudinal movement whereby the pinion i2 is disengaged from the wheeland the pinion l3 meshed with the wheel 1. Such longitudinal movement isimparted to the spindle M by means of an electromagnet l5 operating onan armature l6 attached toan arm ll pivoting about a knifeedgeprojecting from the frame i, a bifurcated end of the arm engaging thespindle M between stops thereon. A restoring spring l9 operates on theend of the arm ll so as to maintain the armature away from the polepiece of the electromagnet, and the pinion l2 in engagement with thewheel 3.

To the spindle M is also secured a toothed wheel 20 which constantlymeshes with a pinion 2| on a further spindle 22 supported in the frameI, the spindle 22 also carrying the motor rotor 23 operated upon byenergizing coils, only one of which is illustrated at 24, the coilsbeing adapted to be energized in succession at each quarter of arevolution of the armature 23 by means of an interrupter spring set (notshown) operated on by the cam 25 attached to the spindle 22.

The arm ll has an extension (shown in Fig. 2) which may extend downwardfrom the part of armature ll shown in Fig. 1 and which carries a lockingmember 30 (Fig. 2) slidable in the frame 1 below the wheels 3 and I, thelocking member normally, i. e. with the electromagnet iii in ade-energized condition, engaging the cogwheel I, the energization of themagnet l5 causing the locking member to be disengaged from the wheel iand engaged with the wheel 3.

The two cogwheels 3 and I (Fig. 3) are normally held stationary by meansof a common latching member 23 (Fig. 3) having a contact point 21thereon. the member 26 being'suppo'rted by resilient arms attached to anelectromagnetically-operat-ed armature 29. The arms 28 are resilient intheir longitudinal direction to absorb the energy of the wiper systemson the stopping thereof.

The operations are as follows :1 the components normally occupy thepositions illustrated with the motor rotor 23 coupled to the cogwheel 3via the wheels 2|, 2%, and Hi. When the Wiper set 5 is to be set to anoutlet, the electromagnet controlling the armature 29 is energized andthe latching member 26 lifted out of engagement with the cogwheels 3and 1. The wheel 3 is thus released for rotation whereas the wheel 1 isheld by the locking member 30.

On the lifting of the latching member 26 the contact 2? thereon closesthe circuits for the motor magnet 24, in a manner not shown but knownper se, and the armature 23 commences to rotate, driving the wiper set 5over the associated bank contacts until a desired outlet is foundwhereupon the armature 29 is released to allow the latching member tore-engage the wheels 3 and i stopping the rotation of the former and toopen the circuit of the motor. The wiper set 5 is thus set to a desiredposition.

For setting the wiper set 9 the magnet I5 is energized before orsubstantially at the same time as the magnet controlling the armature 29and on the energization of the magnet IS the arm I? is caused todisengage the pinion [2 from the wheel 3 and to engage the pinion l3with the wheel '5. The locking member 30 moves to the left to lock thewheel 3 and release the wheel I. The wiper set S is then set to arequired position via the wheels 2i, 2%, l3, and 1, and the cannon Bwhereupon the armature 29 is released and the magnet i5 de-energized sothat the latching member re -engages the wheels 3 and l, and the lockingmember re-engages the wheel I under the tension of spring i9.

The wiper sets are brought to their normal positions in a similarmanner.

It will be appreciated that although the example illustrates a motordriven switch the power for driving the wipers may be derived from anymotive source such as from a step by step mechanism or a continuouslyrotating source.

By connecting together electrically the two wiper sets any contact inone bank may be connected to any contact in the other bank.

I claim:

1. A selecting switch having a plurality of wiper sets, a common drivingmeans, gearing normally coupling said means to one wiper set and tendingto drive that set, a latch normally holding the wiper sets againstmovement, electromagnetic means for operating the latch to permitmovement of the one wiper set and means for shifting said gearing tocouple the driving means with the other wiper set and prevent movementof said one wiper set.

2. A selecting switch having a plurality of wiper sets each having agear wheel associated therewith, a motor driven gear, an intermediateshaft carrying a gear meshed with said motor driven gear and gears forengagement with said gear wheels, and means for moving said shaftendwise to mesh one of the gears thereon with one of the gear wheels todrive one Wiper set individually.

3. In a selecting switch, a first gear and shaft therefor, anintermediate shaft, means for driving said first gear and shaft, a gearon said intermediate shaft normally engaging said first gear, two othergears on said intermediate shaft, a plurality of sets of wipers and alike number of mounting shafts therefor adapted to be selectivelyengaged to rotate said wiper sets to engage successive bank contacts,driving gears for each of said mounting shafts, normally connected meansincluding one of. said two other gears on said intermediate shaft andone of said driving gears for rotating one of said plurality of wipershafts when said driving means is actuated, and electrically controlledmeans for sliding said intermediate shaft endwise to disengage saidnormally engaged driving gear on said one wiper shaft and to engage theother of said driving gears to rotate the other of said wiper shaftswhen said driving means is. actuated.

4. In a selecting switch, a first gear and drive shaft therefor, anintermediate shaft, a motor for driving said first gear and shaft, agear mounted on said intermediate shaft normally engaging said firstgear, two other gears mounted on said intermediate shaft, a plurality ofwipers adapted to be selectively engaged to rotate said wipers to engagesuccessive bank contacts, drive shafts and gears therefor, and meansresponsive to the actuation of said motor for normally driving saidfirst gear and shaft, said two other gears and intermediate shaft andone of said plurality of wiper shafts to advance the wipers thereon overthe associated bank contacts.

5. A selecting device comprising in combination, two sets of wipersmounted on separate shafts, an intermediate shaft normally in gearedrelation with one of said wiper set mounting shafts, a drive shaftgeared to said intermediate shaft, means for rotating said drive shaftto cause said one wiper set mounting shaft to advance its wipers overassociated bank contacts, and means for sliding said intermediate shaftendwise to disengage the gearing of said intermediate shaft from saidone wiper set mounting shaft and to engage said intermediate shaftgearing with the other of said wiper set mounting shaft to cause thewiper set thereon to be advanced over its associated bank contacts.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which a latching device is providedto prevent rotation of. both said wiper set mounting shafts while saiddrive shaft rotating means is non-effective.

HENRY JOHN EDWARDS.

